On Facebook and social media, people read and see what they want to read and see. Confirmation biases are as reliable as the sunrise.

Pseudo news sources (and, more often, actual news sources) bait people into “likes” and shares by capitalizing on opinions central to a specific group, i.e. baby boomers and millennials. Say, a conservative source siding with police after a tragedy, or a liberal slanted outlet condemning the same.

Yes, this is coming from a 27-year-old idealistic cynic. Living in my own millennial world of narcissism, where dictionaries validate words like selfie and millennial. Young and impressionable. Loose and liberal, at least according to wiser folk twice my age.

And in another arm of the online world, people confide in quizzes to decide with which political party they identify (moderate, Republican-leaning independent), the superhero they’re best suited to (still haven’t found a result I agree with) and, yes, which Thanksgiving dessert they are (pecan pie. Am I that transparent?)

I question not only these sketchy evaluations, but also that of my own. (Am I really pecan pie? I prefer sweet potato.)

But there’s a point to make: Question everything — especially yourself.

Start by being self-critical and aware of other people and opinions. Read or learn something that challenges your views. The Bible. Nietzsche. Talk to an atheist or anarchist. Watch a Westboro Baptist Church video. Click a cute dog video instead of one with a cat.

If you disagree or are offended, bravo. That’s natural. You’ve made progress.

Questioning tradition isn’t popular in Huron County. But morality hinges on questions of right and wrong. It is defined by a changing definition. It’s not only like-mindedness and commonality that unite us; our differences make people worth knowing and being around.

You need not be persuaded. But we could all use more empathy. We need to find the other sides more often. We need to take sides less often, which is ever so easy on Facebook and other social media.

And at least once a month, try to go somewhere or do something new, unusual or uncomfortable.

Recently I visited U-M’s Museum of Natural History. Many exhibits were based on theory or even scientists’ assumptions. I didn’t see anything that challenged my views — the point was more to expand and learn. We should always be learning, but it takes interest and discipline to continue without a classroom. It takes discipline, too, to realize science and faith fall short in explaining life.

On that same day, I walked into a Himalayan bazaar. Buddhas on the walls. Colorful wool hats and gloves imported from Nepal. Near the back, plaques of news stories telling of Mt. Everest trekkers, and a basket of “rocks and things” found at a base camp near the mountain. An Indian woman behind the counter told me the owners not only climbed Mt. Everest, they were married at its peak. They were the only couple to do so, she said proudly.

I returned home, opened a book and came across Howard Nemerov, who writes in his poem “To David, About His Education”:

“In order to become one of the grown-ups/Who sees invisible things neither steadily nor whole/But keeps gravely the grand confusion of the world/Under his hat, which is where it belongs/And teaches small children to do this in their turn.”

I like that. Plenty to ponder.

I’m trying to keep my eyes and mind open. To be empathetic and curious, but also vigilant, of new ideas, and, more importantly, to the people who create them.

Of course, you don’t need a lowly, fledgling newspaper reporter to tell you this.